Sneaky Grace
“And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, ‘I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.’
“The disciples said to Him, ‘Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a huge crowd?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ And they said, ‘Seven, and a few small fish.’
“And He directed the people to sit down on the ground and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
“And they all ate and were satisfied and they picked up what was left over of all the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.” Matthew 15:32-38
“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I man win more. …To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel,” I Corinthians 9:19, 22-23a
Looking back at my childhood, even though we were not Christians, we believed in the teachings of the Bible -- just because we grew up in America. So, we prayed the Lord’s Prayer each school morning, didn’t shop on Sundays and we celebrated all the traditional Christian holidays – Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving.
And, at the dinner table, we would say grace. I never really understood why it was called grace now that I think about it, but other than one funeral for my wonderful Grandpa Cam at age nine, I was never in a church. Yet, God always knew every minute He had planned for my life (Psalm 139) and what it would take to bring me to His Throne of Grace to obtain mercy through His personal plan for my life (Hebrews 4:16).
God wants everyone to be saved (II Peter 3:9) but He does not force us to come to Him. He works throughout our lives in various ways to ensure we have no excuse to say we do not know His love for us (Romans 1:18-23). So, as insignificant as saying grace was, it served to attract my heart to the Truth of His eternal salvation. What about you?
____________________________________________
Take care with love, especially His, from Darlene, who still prays for you each day.
PS: You can also find the devotions on line/ on your mobile phone here: www.weakdaydevotion.com .
NOTES: I choose to believe the Bible because it's a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They reported supernatural events that took place before, of specific prophecies; and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.
The Five Solas: Individuals are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, as revealed by Scripture alone to the glory of God alone!
Find my full statement of faith: https://especiallyhislove.blogspot.com (where you will also find a series of Bible studies). For the books, go to Amazon books. For prayer requests/ updates, email: darlenerichard@gmail.com